FAA Selects Contractor for En Route Air Traffic Modernization

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Transportation's
Federal Aviation Administration today awarded a $125 million
dollar contract to Lockheed Martin Corp., Rockville, Md., to
develop and field the En Route Communications Gateway (ECG).
The ECG system, which provides a gateway for processing radar
data, will increase safety margins by reducing system outages,
and will be easier to maintain. It will replace the current Peripheral
Adapter Module Replacement Item (PAMRI) using modern
communications protocols and modular, expandable hardware
components.

Twenty-one Air Route Traffic Control Centers, the FAA Academy
in Oklahoma City and the William J. Hughes Technical Center in
Atlantic City, N.J., will be equipped with the system. The Seattle
enroute center is the first site scheduled for installation of the
new system; it is expected to become operational in the summer
of 2003. The last site will be fielded mid-2005.

PAMRI, which will be replaced by ECG, is a critical primary
component of air traffic control systems that serves as:
·The sole "gateway" or interface for data from radar
sites to the enroute centers.
·The sole interface for exchange of flight plan data from
outside sources among the enroute centers.
·A primary means to transfer data among systems
within the enroute centers.

ECG will consolidate other gateways and PAMRI functions into a
single domain communications gateway, allowing all national
airspace system domains to communicate seamlessly and
securely.

ECG will contain certain functions of older systems, and provide
the foundation for new communications sources and new
radar/surveillance sources, such as Automatic Dependent
Surveillance; which allows pilots and controllers to see the same
air traffic. ECG also will support external interfaces upon initial
implementation, using non-proprietary, commercial off-the-shelf
products to the maximum extent possible.

PAMRI originally was fielded as an interim replacement for a
system that used 1960's technology. It has been running for 10
years, far beyond the lifetime originally planned. Air Traffic
Services' need for new connectivity and functionality also has
driven the need to replace PAMRI. The Air Traffic Services
mission for the future clearly requires increased radar sensor
data at each enroute center and the capability to receive a wider
range of radar sensor types.